Jillian's Really Stupid Obsession
by poetrygurl
Summary: Anyone like uncreative titles? Here's the one for you! The story isn't as uncreative... two friends, in Hufflepuff (Celeste and Jillian) develope crushes on two different guys. Extremely different. Read one's bad and the other's "safe". Neway, they go to
1. Admission

Jillian Orlando sunk into the armchair in the Gryffindor tower

Jillian Orlando sunk into the armchair in the Hufflepuff common room. She moaned as she rubbed her left hand, her writing hand. "I cannot believe McGonagall gave us so much writing classwork today!" she exclaimed, staring into the merrily popping flames.

Her close friend, Celeste Bowhing, murmured in agreement. "Yes. You're right. I can't believe it either." She was reclining in an identical armchair near Jillian's, her head tilted against the high back. Her eyes were closed, and thick blonde hair spilled around her shoulders innocently, but Jillian knew better.

Celeste and Jillian had been best friends for years. Ever since their first year at Hogwarts. They were now in their fifth year, and you couldn't find a closer pair. Well, maybe Fred and George Weasley. But when the next year started, and Fred and George wouldn't attend their school anymore, they would be known as the two biggest trouble-makers.

Jillian stared into the flames, flickering and crackling. She couldn't believe that she was already in her fifth year. After that, only two more years to go… and then, the real world. For a fleeting moment, she was terrified and worried. But then her thoughts tuned into what Celeste was saying.

"I wonder who I'll go to the Yule Ball with this year," Celeste pondered outloud. "Are you getting a date?"

Jillian shrugged. "I'm not sure. No one's asked me yet. I'll probably just go. Alone."

Celeste's eyes popped open. "Of course you're going to have a date! You can ask any one of the guys in our house; they'll all say yes."

Jillian raised her eyebrows. "If any of them will say yes, then why haven't they asked me yet?"

Celeste was quiet as she stared into the fire. Her final reply was: "Well, they're obviously scared of you. Of your beauty, your intelligence, your strong loyalty and friendship."

Jillian rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She absently rubbed her wrist, which was still sore. "Maybe I'll just skip it. I mean, it's only a dance, right?"

At this, Celeste sat completely up in her chair, quickly drawing her eyes from the fire. She turned to stare, open-mouthed at Jillian. "Come on, Jill. You have to go. It's like, I don't know… the Prom."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Jillian's mouth. "And what exactly is the Prom?"

Again, Celeste shrugged. "Well, it's this American tradition. At their high schools, there's this huge dance at the end of your last year. It's called the Prom. The second to last year has a dance called Junior Prom. Anyway, it's like this huge ordeal. If you don't go, you'll feel like something's missing for the rest of your life." She paused to smirk. "At least, that's how this cheesy site I stumbled onto described it."

"And how did you stumble onto it?" Jillian asked, charmed by Celeste's wide variety of knowledge and odd cultural tidbits.

"I was looking for a States teen chatroom."

Jillian threw a pillow at Celeste and they both laughed companionably. It felt so comfortable just to be hanging out with each other, talking about really nothing at all.

After five years of friendship, they'd grown to expect wonderful company out of each other. And it always worked out for the best. They were there for each other during the small things, like when the other needed a shoulder to cry on, when one of them had a rough break-up, when they got a bad grade on some meaningless assignment. But also for the more important things: when Jillian hadn't gotten the role she'd wanted so badly in a play, when Celeste's cousin had died. And they always would be. All the things that were important in a friendship and created a bond were there, between the two fifteen year old girls that seemed so different.

Jillian was quiet and introverted, with longish, soft brown hair and quiet, deep brown eyes. She was tall and long-legged, but had a bit of a clumsy aura around her. Her favorite past-times were curling up with a book or a pad of paper and a pencil, exercising, and hanging out with her tight-knit group of friends. Celeste was outgoing and extroverted, with crazy, energetic, bright sea-green eyes and bouncy, thick blonde hair that floated around her shoulders. She was on the shorter side, but as graceful as a cat. She liked to do anything and everything: from trying out a new sport to being the first one to volunteer in class to completing many past dares.

For a second they tossed pillows at each other, stifling their giggles, seeing as how most of the students from the Hufflepuff house had gone up to bed. It was only them and a couple other kids on the far side of the room that were still up. Finally, they calmed down enough to resume their previous discussion.

"Now seriously, Jillian. Who are you going to ask to the Yule Ball?" Celeste demanded, feigning a stern look as she stared pointedly at Jillian.

Jillian couldn't help it: she burst out laughing. "Who am I going to invite? Most likely no one. What about you?"

Celeste got a dreamy look in her eyes and sighed lazily. She'd slipped from her armchair and was resting on the floor, her chin perched on her fists on top of the ottoman at Jillian's feet. "Well… I don't think you'd like it, but…"

"C'mon, you have to tell me. You know you will eventually anyway, you ought to just tell me now," she urged reasonably.

After a moment of silence, Celeste stated proudly, "Ron Weasley."

Jillian's jaw dropped. "Ron Weasley? The red-headed boy who hangs out with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger?"

Celeste gave her a belittling look. "We do have classes with the three of them, you know. You don't have to act like they're complete strangers."

Jillian forced her jaw shut. "Well, I'm not. I know they're not strangers—but we don't know them all that well, you have to agree with me."

Celeste rolled her head back. "I know, I know. But whenever I talk to him, it's like, whoa. I really feel some kind of spark, ya know? Besides, it wouldn't hurt to try. He seems like such a fun guy. Easy-going and relaxed. A real safe one."

Jillian thought for a moment. "Well, doesn't he have a thing for Hermione?"

Celeste shook her head, her blonde hair whipping around violently. "No, no. That's just a rumor. She has a thing for him."

"Ah," I replied, biting my tongue harshly. I knew better than to ask her exactly how she knew that, so I had opened my mouth to change the subject completely when she interrupted me.

"Why? You don't like Ron, do you?" she sounded slightly perturbed, and Jillian smirked inwardly. Like there was anything to be worried about. Ron Weasley probably didn't even know her name. He went for more striking girls, with character and flair. Like Celeste.

"No, no, the guy I'm crushing on isn't a Ron. He's a bad boy, sorta the exact opposite," as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she cringed. How could she have let that slip? It was the biggest—and the only—thing she'd ever kept from Celeste, and there was really no reason for her to know.

"A bad boy?" Celeste squeaked, leaning against the ottoman and rocking forward eagerly. "Who, who? Please tell me… 'You know you will eventually anyway, you ought to just tell me now'. C'mon, you can't keep this from me…" she trailed off, her eyes bright, curious, and disturbingly focused.

Jillian shook her head, pretending to zip her lips shut.

"If I guess, will you tell me?" Celeste offered.

Jillian didn't say anything, she just stared stonily at Celeste.

"Umm… Jake O'Reily?" Celeste asked, naming one of the low-grade stoners in their house.

Jillian gave her a disgusted look.

"Okay, okay, I didn't think so. Good. Anyway… um, Buff Parkinson?" she questioned, guessing Pansy Parkinson's younger brother. He was dim-witted and slow, just like his older sister, and again, she was way off the bat.

Jillian shook her head.

Celeste tilted her head to the side, thinking hard. "Let's see… Parker Reid?"

Again, a no.

"Harry Potter?"

Jillian gave her a confused look, spreading her hands as if to say: Explain to me how Harry Potter is a bad boy.

Celeste shrugged. "I don't know, he's always fighting the forces of evil and crap, sneaking out to break school rules, stuff like that. He could be considered a bad boy."

Again, another look, which plainly read: Yeah, considered a bad boy by Hermione Granger and Percy Weasley.

Celeste bit her bottom lip and gave a dejected sigh. "I have no clue. Is it an adult crush? Like, Professor Snape, or something?"

Jillian made a gagging motion and shook her head violently.

"Okay, I know!" Celeste cried passionately. "Voldemort!"

All Jillian could do was stare at her, one eyebrow quirked, unimpressed.

Celeste slumped. "All right, all right, I give up. If I haven't guessed him yet, I probably don't even know him—"

Jillian began to smile, opening her mouth to flaunt her success.

"Draco."

"What?" Jillian spoke, slumping forward. "Him?" She forced a laugh, averting her eyes to the fireplace. "Draco Malfoy? That kid? The Slytherin?"

Celeste gave her a sympathetic grin, perching herself on the ottoman and patting Jillian's hand. "It's okay, Jill. We all go through it once in awhile. You might as well talk about it."

Jillian finally crumpled, dropping her head into her hands. "I can't believe it, Celeste. It's awful. I can't stand him. His manners… his friends… his attitude… it's awful. But, yet, there's some part of me that just won't stop thinking about him."

"I know, I know," Celeste soothed, patting Jillian's hair softly. "You'll grow out of it."

Jillian looked up at Celeste, staring steadily into her friend's eyes. "I don't think I will, Cel. I haven't grown out of it for five years."

Celeste locked eyes with Jillian for a moment, searching for something, before looking away and sighing heavily. She stretched. "Do you want to talk about it more tonight?"

Jillian, still staring at Celeste, shook her head silently.

"Then we'll either talk about it tomorrow, and you can tell me all your feelings about this guy in the past five years, or we'll drop it. But we'll figure that one out in the morning." She stood up, pulling Jillian to her feet.

Jillian smiled shakily at Celeste. "Thanks, Cel. You handled the news surprisingly well."

Celeste shrugged and gave her best friend a tired smile. "I don't think it's sunk in yet."

They laughed softly and started off down the hallway toward their dorm.


	2. Preparation

On the night of the Yule Ball, Celeste paced rapidly up and down her and Jillian's shared dorm. She had her hands clenched behind her back and her eyes were wild. Jillian sat on one of the beds, quietly following her friend's progress with her eyes.

"Why don't you come sit down?" Jillian asked, patting the sheet beside her. "You look… worried." She chose her words carefully, knowing about Celeste's firm conviction that she never got nervous.

Celeste spun around, glaring at Jillian. "Worried?" she yelped. "I look worried?! Are you blind? Deaf? I'm scared out of my mind! Can't you see I'm a nervous wreck?"

Screw convictions.

"But why?" Jillian asked reasonably. "It's just the Yule Ball. We went to it last year; it's not that bad at all. You know we'll have fun. What's the problem?"

"It's Ron!" Celeste explained desperately. "He's such a great guy. He's funny and smart and sweet and just so nice. I know somehow I'll mess things up with him. He's so perfect." She gripped Jillian's arms tightly, and her eyes flashed crazily. Wet chunks of hair fell around her shoulders, dampening the scrubby old robes she wore.

Jillian smiled sweetly at Celeste. "C'mon, Cel. For the past two weeks, I've barely seen you. You've been hanging out with Ron and his Gryffindor gang. That's completely fine, I'm cool with it, but if you've spent so much time with them, why are you worried? You two will have a great time. They'll be no room for you to mess up."

That dreadful evening two weeks ago suddenly came back to her. She had confessed her huge crush on Draco Malfoy to Celeste. She couldn't believe she'd done that. The thought of it now horrified her. How could I embarrass myself like that? she thought. Sure, I like Draco. A lot. But Celeste shouldn't need to know that… luckily, her friend hadn't said anything about it the next day, and they'd let the whole thing drop. She tuned back into what Cel was saying.

"But what if I do? What if I screw it up by saying something stupid? I'll never be able to forgive myself," Celeste cried dramatically.

Jillian smirked. "If you can screw it up by saying something stupid, it would've happened—"

"Don't finish that sentence," Celeste muttered darkly, glaring at Jillian. Suddenly, both of them dissolved into laughter. Celeste sighed and fell back onto the four-poster. "You're right you know. He's cool. I'm cool. It'll be cool." Laughing she pointed at the shower, now completely relaxed. "Now get in there to take your shower so we can finish getting ready."

Jillian shook her head, smiling, and entered the large bathroom. She didn't take long, and when she exited the steamy room, her and Celeste began to get ready. They blow-dried their hair after adding a holding gel, and then they styled each other's. Celeste used a charm she'd gotten off the Internet, which was supposedly her guide to absolutely everything there was to know about anything.

As Celeste mumbled some quick words, Jillian's hair began to twist back in separate pieces into a loose ponytail high on her head. Then it curled itself and loosely wrapped around itself, silver bobby pins flying to assist. When that was finished, two curls magically tugged themselves from the mass and floated lazily around Jillian's face. As a finishing flourish, Celeste added tiny diamonds all over, which glittered when caught under the light. Then she took a needle and personally threaded a wide dark blue ribbon through Jillian's mahogany curls.

"There! Yours is done," Celeste exclaimed boldly. "Now let's see what you've done to me." She turned to the mirror and gasped. While she'd been steadily training her wand on Jillian's head, keeping her eyes focused, Jillian had been sprinkling a glitter dust on her hair. Now it had somehow managed to tuck into itself, creating a sleek twist. But in the center of this twist there was some sort of hollow. In the center of the hollow twinkled a fairy. Curls cascaded around her like a waterfall, and she made Celeste's entire head shine with a soft glow. Besides the fairy, her hair shimmered with tons of minuscule, glittery powder. "This is going to be killer to wash out," she laughed happily. "But thank you, Jill! It's gorgeous!"

Jillian smiled proudly. "Your welcome. I love my hair, too. You're really good at it." Smiling giddily at one another, they waved their wands at their torsos at the same time. With a pop, both of their plain black robes had been changed to their stylish dress robes.

Celeste eyed hers critically in the mirror, turning both ways to look at it from all angles. "I can't believe that I spent so much money on this," she fretted. "I hope it's worth it."

Jillian giggled. "I think you'll knock Ron's socks off," she said, offering her opinion. Celeste smiled gratefully at her.

Her friend's robes were made from some sort of stretchy material. They were a pale pink and fell a few inches above the floor. The color brought out her milky, smooth skin and her glimmering blonde hair. The robes were form fitting, and one sleeve slid sexily off her shoulder. The sleeves themselves were some sort of lacy, sheer material that poofed out and fell to her elbows. "I hope McGonagall doesn't kick me out when she catches sight of me," she giggled cocking her hip one way, then the other.

"Well, let's hope she doesn't catch sight of you, then," Jillian chirped optimistically, turning to the mirror to admire her own dress robes. She stared, caught off-guard by how much she looked like her mom in the picture on her nightstand. Oh well, it only seemed proper she should be the spitting image of her mother: they were her robes, after all, from when she was a young girl at Hogwarts. They were a deep, shimmering dark blue, and slid silkily and loosely down her body. She swished back and forth, enjoying the feel of the smooth fabric against her skin. They were long, and fell in piles of material at her ankles. She had to lift the folds just to walk without tripping. The sleeves were wide and hugely loose: tunnels of midnight blue, shining fabric.

"I'm going to make a fool out of myself, I just know it," Jillian said monotonously, still staring at her mother in the mirror. "I'll trip all over myself, break a leg or something."

Celeste went to stand next to her. "No. No, you won't, Jill dear. You'll dance the night away with some older man. Those robes look perfect on you. They bring out the chestnut in your hair and eyes." She tilted her head a second, studying her best friend. "Now c'mon. Let's move onto the final step of our preparation!"

They leaned into the dresser mirror and quickly applied their make-up, which was spread out on the dresser top. Celeste wore brown mascara, liquid liner, a pearly white shadow, and pink lipgloss. Then she worked a light foundation cream into her skin, eyes trained on her image. Cringing, she slipped large gold hoops through her ears. Though she liked the way she was dressed and styled tonight, there was something largely girlie about the way she looked. It was okay; the earrings added a touch of that crazy, wild side that had come to be her reputation.

Jillian had applied foundation, three coats of black mascara, thin lines of kohl, a dark silver shadow, and a deep wine-colored lipgloss. When she leaned back to check over everything, she realized something was missing. Knowing immediately what it was, Jillian slipped a pair of diamond earrings identical to those in her hair through her lobes. When she looked now into the mirror, everything seemed to fit. In fact, it fit very well. She looked older and more daring than ever.

"You are going to kick some major butt tonight, sweetheart!" Celeste crowed, dancing around the room ecstatically. "We both are! We look hot!" Jillian chuckled as she watched her friend spin around until she was dizzy. "Lemme go get the purses!"

As Celeste spun away to the other side of the room, Jillian was struck by thoughts of Draco. She swallowed thickly as she thought about what his reaction may be to her tonight. She'd see him. And he'd probably see her. They would exchange polite nods, maybe even a bit of stiff conversation. Jillian's heart couldn't help but race a little faster.

She suddenly had a crazy urge to run her hand through his platinum blonde hair. Look closely into his arrogant, light blue eyes. Touch his icy cold, pale white skin. Stand close to his lean, lanky body. Crazily, she promised herself she would at least ask him to dance. She didn't care that everyone would be disgusted with her. Didn't care that he'd probably say no.

She stopped. Banished all thoughts of him from her mind. She couldn't let herself go like that, or she would do something stupid that she'd regret later. She wouldn't think about Draco anymore tonight. She'd dance with nice, polite, safe boys and stay away from ignorant, mean characters like him.

As she linked arms with Celeste and skipped out of the room and down the hall to the Hufflepuff common room, and then, through that and on to the Great Hall, she chatted gaily and laughed with her best friend over easy, trivial things. And she didn't think about Draco. She thought about the smart, funny boys she would dance with, the band that was going to be playing, her friends and what they would be wearing. She thought about Celeste and Ron, the perfect match, and Hermione Granger, who was probably steaming right now in jealousy. She laughed at Celeste's imitation of Ernie, who was standing in a corner of the room, talking to himself, pacing, waving a corsage around. And still, she didn't think of Draco. Just like she wouldn't for the rest of the night.

Well, almost.


	3. Attraction

The Great Hall had been transformed

The Great Hall had been transformed. Almost as much as Jillian. Gone were the four house tables, and instead the slick tile floor had been shined and waxed till it was perfect for dancing. Large, comfortable chairs and couches lined the walls, and along the sides of the doors were long pieces of driftwood hovering about four feet in the air. Panes of glass had been laid on top of them to give it a smooth surface, and they were weighed down heavily with food and drink.

The top of the Great Hall, where the teachers usually sat during meals, had been redecorated: lighting had been set up so that a large circle of spotlight fell on the center of the stage. Microphones, guitars, a keyboard, and a drumset were waiting.

A thrill of excitement raced through Jillian. "I heard that Potion was going to be playing here tonight," she whispered to Celeste. "Is that true?"

Celeste shrugged, eyeing the crowd coolly. "I have no idea. They kicked me off the planning party, remember? I wanted the theme to be Fire and Ice, but they said that was, like, evil or something."

As it was, the theme was some sort of coffeehouse setting. The lights had been dimmed, but yet a frosty haze of orange-red gave everything a different appeal to it. The furniture around the room was squat and funky, though a bit ratty.

Everyone was spread out casually, but the room was still crowded. People lounged in the chairs and couches, and stood on the dance floor in large groups, laughing and talking animatedly. Celeste and Jillian wondered over to the other three Hufflepuff girls, who were standing near the punch bowl.

"Hey, you two," Hannah Abbott said cheerfully, sipping the bright blue punch. "How are you guys? You both look great, by the way."

"Thanks," Jillian said sincerely. "You do, too. I like your earrings."

Hannah fingered the small, thick silver hoops self-consiously. "You do? Thanks. I wasn't too sure about them. So, who are you guys here with?"

Jillian glanced at Celeste, but she was still busy looking out into the crowd. Jillian answered, "I'm here alone. I figure I'll be a single gal from now on. Celeste's got a date… Ron Weasley."

The other girls glanced at each other. "Wow. Celeste, you're really lucky," Susan Bones offered. "He's pretty cute."

"Hmm, what was that?" Celeste mumbled, glancing uninterestedly at the small huddle of girls. "Have you guys seen Ron?"

"I think he's over there," Sally-Anne Perks said helpfully, pointing to one of the couches set up near the stage, all the way across the hall. Jillian saw where she was pointing to, and sure enough a group of three sat, and one redhead stood out. Soon, a huge group of people got in their way, and Celeste had to stand on her tiptoes to see slightly over their heads.

"Let's go, Jill! C'mon, I see him," she said hurriedly, pulling Jillian away. Jillian smiled at the three girls over her shoulder as she was yanked away, giving a quick wave. Laughing, they waved back.

"Okay, okay, how do I look?" Celeste asked Jillian a second before they reached the three on the couch. Jillian looked her over critically and gave the thumbs-up sign, moving ahead of her to the couch.

"Hey, you guys," Celeste said cheerily. "What's up with everyone here?"

She plopped down on the shoulder of the couch next to Ron, and he grinned up at her, his eyes shining with admiration. "A lot, now that you're here."

"Aww," Celeste said quietly, looking down at him, affection written all over her face. "You're a sweetie."

Jillian quickly tuned out their bashful flirting and turned to Hermione and Harry, who were sitting next to Ron. Hermione's jaw was jutted out, her eyes narrowed. The two friends weren't talking, and Harry seemed confused. When he saw Jillian studying them, he stood up quickly and pulled her to the side. "What am I supposed to do, Jill?" he muttered under his breath, casting a sidelong glance at Hermione. "Herm's sulking."

"Do you know why?" Jillian asked carefully. She didn't think that he realized one of his best friends had fallen for his other best friend.

"I have no idea," he spread his arms, looking helpless and lost. "She looked nervous, and so I told her to calm down, we all had dates, everything was under control. Then she looked confused and asked me who Ron was going to the Yule Ball with. I told her he had asked Celeste, didn't he tell her that? And she got all huffy and sulking. What do I do?"

Jillian had to bite her lip and duck her head to keep from laughing. When she looked up, a curl had fallen into her eyes. She tossed her head, saying, "You know what, Harry? You really are clueless, aren't you?"

"What?" he asked, even more confused. "I might be missing something here, but I don't want to be stuck with a crabby Hermione all night, just because Ron's got a date—" he stopped, his eyes suddenly widening innocently. "Oh. Oh, well. Oh, my, I think I get it now. Thank you." He looked so shell-shocked that she laid a hand on his arm sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, Harry. But, yeah, it's the truth. You had to find out somehow," Jillian said softly, smiling at the startled teenager.

"Yeah, well. You're right. I think I should talk to her now," he said, making his way to Hermione. Bending down, he said something quietly in her ear, and she looked up at him furiously. After a bit more frantic whispering, they finally got up and left the couch, making their way to the nearest exit.

Jillian took their places on the couch, leaning over to rub her heel. The shoes she'd slipped on were awesome, but they were new and chaffed her skin irritatingly. When she sat up straight, the lights suddenly went out completely, except for two red spotlights that spun over the crowd. Everyone turned to face the stage, cheering in excitement.

Dumbledore walked out on stage, dressed in slick black robes, a beret perched jauntily on his head. Speaking through a megaphone, he shouted, "And now, the band you've all been waiting for—"

"POTION!" shouted the crowd, and Dumbledore bowed deeply, swishing off stage. The five members of the alternative band ran onto stage, and the lead singer grabbed the front microphone and began singing the opening song, a fast dance tune.

Everyone immediately flooded onto the floor, and as Jillian watched Ron lean over and whisper something in Celeste's ear, she smiled happily. This was going to be so much fun. She loved being part of a moving, dancing crowd. Celeste pulled Jillian up. "Let's dance!" she shouted.

"What?" Jillian shouted back. "I thought you and Ron…"

"All three of us!" Celeste yelled, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Just because I have a hot, awesome, perfect date doesn't mean I'm gonna diss my best friend!" And with that, she pulled Jillian behind her, holding onto the back of Ron's robes.

They began dancing in the center of the room, moving and dipping to the beat. Soon, they were joined by about ten people, and a large circle had formed. They all moved together, laughing at the excitement of it all. The orange red haze had returned, and smoke swirled around their ankles.

After about twenty minutes, Jillian found Celeste in the throng and grabbed her arm. Her friend turned away from Ron with a dazzling smile on her face. "Great, isn't it? Dumbledore's letting a lot slide this year. I just saw Lavender and Seamus making out on one of the couches. By the looks of things, no one had stopped them yet!" Jillian laughed along with her, brushing a curl out of her eyes.

"Actually, I'm going to take a break, okay?" she shouted.

Celeste nodded, wrapping her arms around Ron's neck. "That's a good idea. But I'm having too good of a time," she said, leaning her head back and singing along to the fast lyrics. "Have fun, Jilly! Try the stuffed peppers. Harry says they're great."

"Harry?" Jillian questioned. Celeste nodded. Jillian shrugged. Apparently, he'd quickly gotten over the news about Hermione.

She pushed through the crowd of gyrating bodies toward the hovering driftwood at the back of the room. Even there, the noise filled her ears. Pausing to grab a plastic cup, she filled it with a clear, gooey liquid; someone had told her this sweet drink was very good. Then she moved towards one of the doors, finally stepping into the hall.

It was much cooler there. The castle doors had been propped open so people could walk freely about the grounds, and she started toward the outdoors. When she reached there, she stood on the stone steps and stared down at the activity going on. People had spilled from the Great Hall onto the lawn, and many bodies moved, dancing even more freely than they were inside.

Somehow, this didn't strike her as fun. Jillian just wanted to take a breather, get some fresh air, and cool down a little bit. Then she'd go back to join her friends, maybe dance with that Ravenclaw boy Susan Bones had introduced her to. What was his name? Oh yeah, Terry Boot. Smart kid, really clever. Sharp. And sweet, too.

Turning around, she started to go back inside the castle. Where to go, where to go? Just to close her eyes for a few seconds, wipe the sweat off her brow. Jillian thoughtfully studied a tapestry hanging in the hall, stirring the syrupy liquid with a straw she'd plucked from a cup on the way out. Glancing to the side, she spotted a swinging doorway underneath the Grand Staircase that she'd never noticed before.

Her heart jumped to her throat and a shock of excitement raced through her. She'd just disappear down that staircase for a few minutes, explore a little, and then head right back up…

She slowly tiptoed toward the creaking door, jumping slightly when one of the suits of armor shifted position, readjusting his stance. Chuckling softly to herself, Jillian shook her head, half a smile on her face. No need to be so jumpy, she chided lightly. When she reached the top of the steps, she glanced around carefully before slipping through the entranceway and closing the door behind her.

The staircase was narrow and deeply dark. The steps were cold, crumbling, and hard blocks of concrete. A splintering banister ran down one wall, but she decided against steadying herself with it. Bracing one hand against the cool wall on her right, she made her way down to the depths of the castle.

The staircase twisted and turned, spiraling downward. When she got to the bottom, she released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Her pulse was pounding, and she couldn't help but feel slightly giddy and light-headed with the sense of exploration of it all. Where did this place lead? What would she find at the end of the hall?

The hall was a long tunnel of stone, lit barely by flickering torches. Jillian ran her hands along the sides, wondering down the corridor. As she turned corners, following the winding path, she began more and more enthralled by where she would come out.

Finally, it ended in a large room, filled with pillars. The pillars were intricately and ornately carved, and a different figure of an angel head topped each one. Jillian wondered around the room, weaving in and out of stacks of boxes. It appeared to be some sort of storage area, but the pillars suggested it had been a beautiful room at one time.

As she breathed in the musty air, she studied the angels. They were so sad… cold stone tears streamed from the corners of their eyes, and their small mouths were open in sobs.

"Interesting, aren't they?" a voice said behind me. She spun around, her heart pounding. She backed up against the pillar she'd been closest to. Bracing her hands against the marble, Jillian realized her fingers were shaking slightly at the startlingly intrusion on her privacy.

"Who's there?" she said, her voice cracking slightly with fright. The voice had been low and rumbling, and the tone was anything but friendly. It had a ring of danger to it. Jillian glanced around wildly, her stomach dropping. What was the fastest way out of here?

"The detail… the emotion they evoke…" said the deathly quiet, lethally sexy voice. Now it was right behind her. She spun around. A tall, slender figure sulked behind the pillar they shared, but Jillian couldn't make out who it was.

"Who are you?" she challenged, backing up again. Suddenly, the figure moved forward, out of the shadows.

Taut navy blue robes stretched across the barrel-chested youth, and light blonde hair was slicked back stylishly. A chunk of it fell into his pale blue eyes, which flashed with the reflection of the dim torch light. Pale skin, smooth and transparent, glinted with enchantment. He looked up at her through those piercing, alarmingly explosive eyes, eyes fringed with thick lashes. "Hullo Jillian," he spoke softly, staring steadily at her with such a look of concentration that she was soon dizzy with magnetic attraction.

"Draco," she breathed.


End file.
